Mayor Bloomberg sought to put his schools chancellor’s galling gaffes to rest yesterday, blaming Cathie Black’s poor choice of words last week on her inexperience in the public sector.
Black, whose lack of education and government work has been controversial from the get-go, joked about using “birth control” to stem school overcrowding during a meeting with concerned downtown parents.
She also likened her hard choices to those of a Holocaust victim from the novel and movie “Sophie’s Choice.”
Black later personally apologized to at least two people for her quips.
“You know, Cathie Black made a joke. Some people took it the wrong way. She apologized,” said Bloomberg. “Let’s get on with life.”
He added, “I think she’ll learn slowly over time, as did I, that you can do some things in the private sector you can’t do in the public sector.
“In the public sector, people parse what you say and take it in different ways than they would in the private sector.”